1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer readable medium and to an optical disk storing program codes and the likes which are to be read by information processing apparatus (that is computer) and to an information processing apparatus which reads the program codes and the likes from a recording medium during an operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, a software to operate an information processing apparatus (that is, a computer, a game machine, etc.) is composed of programs and several pieces of data utilized by the programs, and is distributed through a recording medium in a disk shape (for example,a flexible disk, CD-ROM, etc.). At a time of an execution of the software, a part of the software (that is, program or data) in the recording medium is read out and written over useless information on a RAM of the information processing apparatus.
More concretely, a game software for use in an information processing apparatus (a personal computer or a game machine) is distributed through a CD-ROM 100 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 1, for example. That is, the CD-ROM 100 is generally pressed such that a game program including a main program and a plurality of program codes is recorded in a recording area 100c at an inner radius side of the disk plane thereof, a group of animation data is recorded in a recording area 100a at its outer radius side, and a group of graphic data is recorded in a recording area 100b therebetween. In other words, a recording area composed of contiguous storage locations (sectors) that exist near the center of the CD-ROM 100 is used for storing the game program, and a recording area composed of contiguous storage locations that exist near the outer edge of the CD-ROM 100 is used for storing the animation data. Furthermore, the program codes, the animation data, the graphic data and the likes are recorded in the CD-ROM 100 in a form where each information can be identified by a file name.
The CPU in the information processing apparatus having a CD-ROM drive that is set with the CD-ROM 100 will operate as follows. At first, the CPU read out the main program within the recording area 100c onto the RAM by controlling the CD-ROM drive.
Thereafter, the CPU, in accordance with the main program in the RAM, reads out several units of information (usually, several program codes and several graphic data) from the CD-ROM 100 to the RAM.
Then, the CPU begins a control using the information prepared on the RAM, and if a predetermined condition (for example, a condition for proceeding to a new stage) is fulfilled, it reads several information corresponding to the fulfilled condition, from the CD-ROM 100, and stores them on the RAM to overwrite useless information. Then, it begins a control that utilizes this newly prepared information.
As described above, in the information processing apparatus that is set with the CD-ROM 100, processing to read out several pieces of information necessary for continuing the execution of program from the CD-ROM 100 and stored in the RAM is executed. The configuration of the CD-ROM 100 described above causes the CD-ROM drive to operate inefficiently at a time of this processing (hereinafter, it refers to as an update processing).
That is, at a time of the update processing, usually, several graphic data and several program codes are read out from the CD-ROM 100. But, in the CD-ROM 100, these information are recorded in the recording areas that are separated each other. As a result, there are many occasions that the head of the CD-ROM drive is not located in a neighborhood of the recording area of the information in the CD-ROM 100 at the time when a read instruction for a certain information is issued to the CD-ROM drive during the update processing, which causes that a relatively long latency time is included in a response time (an access time) for each of the read instructions.
Further, the access time for the data recorded in the recording area at the outer radius side, and the access time for the data recorded in the storage area at the inner radius side are different according to a type of the CR-ROM drive used for reading the CD-ROM 100, so that there exist a CD-ROM drive in which the former access time is shorter, and the CD-ROM drive in which the latter access time is shorter. The configuration of the CD-ROM 100 has been designed without this point taken into consideration.
Further, in the CD-ROM 100, each information is recorded as a file, in accordance with the ISO9660 file system in which a file name of 32 (or 12) letters (each of which has size of 1 byte) and a directory name of 8 letters are used. Accordingly, managing information which is used for managing the files is also recorded in the CD-ROM 100. Therefore, a storage capacity of the CD-ROM 100 that can be used for storage of a program is limited because of the managing information.
Also, as to a software other than a game software supplied through the CD-ROM or other types of recording medium (a flexible disk and the likes), a group of data utilized by a program are collected and recorded in a storage area different from the one for the program. Thus, the configuration of conventional recording medium causes a reading device to operate inefficiently, although there is a variation of degrees according to the types thereof and to the contents of programs recorded therein.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer readable medium or an optical disk, capable of operating an information processing apparatus without making a reading device of the information processing apparatus to perform an inefficient operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus of which reading device does not operate inefficiently.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a computer readable medium or an optical disk, whose storage capacity is used efficiently.
In order to achieve the above mentioned objects, a computer readable medium which is readable by a computer according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of program codes each of which is executed by the computer to perform specific processing and a plural pieces of data utilized by the computer executing related one of the plurality of program codes, wherein each of the plurality of program codes and its related data among the plural pieces of data are recorded at contiguous storage locations on the medium.
In this aspect of the present invention, a computer readable medium is configured in such a manner that the information (that is, the program code and the data) required for performing a certain processing can be read out continuously. By setting this recording medium to a reading device of an information processing apparatus such as a computer and a game machine, a reading of the necessary information will be completed without causing the head of the reading device to perform a useless operation. Accordingly, if the recording medium of the present invention is used, the information processing apparatus can be functioned in a state that a latency time is less, in other words, the information processing apparatus can be functioned much faster than the conventional ones.
An optical disk in another aspect of the present invention is a disk which is to be set to an optical disk reading device connected to a computer and be able to read information recorded in a storage location at an outer radius side on a disk plane thereof faster than information recorded in a storage location at an inner radius side on the disk plane. The optical disk comprises a plurality of program codes each of which is executed by the computer to perform specific processing and a plural pieces of data each of which is utilized by the computer executing related one of the plurality of program codes, wherein each of the plurality of program codes and its related data among the plural pieces of data are recorded at contiguous storage locations on the disk plane.
With this optical disk, a reading of the required information will be completed without making the head of the optical disk reading device operate uselessly, which enables the information processing apparatus to function much faster than the conventional ones.
If the optical disk of the present invention is manufactured, it is preferable that the plurality of program codes and the plural pieces of data are recorded in a recording area at outer radius side of the disk platter. Moreover, in a recording area at the inner radius side of the disk plane, it is preferable to record data not to be used frequently, for example, animation data.
Further, if the optical disk of the present invention is manufactured, it is preferable to arrange so that all information recorded therein will form one file. More specifically, it is preferable to arrange the program codes, the utilized data and the likes such that they are not recorded as the respective files but as one file. In this optical disk, since information for managing the file name is not recorded, the storage capacity thereof is effectively utilized.
In actualizing the optical disk of the invention, graphic codes that are required for displaying game characters may be used as the plurality of utilized data.
An optical disk which is readable by a computer in another aspect of the invention comprises a movie data, a game program which is executed by the computer to perform controlling movie reproduction and a game operation based on the movie data and a plurality of data utilized by the computer executing game program, wherein the movie data and the game program are recorded in a recording area at an inner radius side on a disk plane thereof, and the plural pieces of data are recorded in a recording area at an outer radius side on the disk plane.
With this optical disk, it is possible to function the information processing apparatus with the optical disk drive which reads an information recorded in a storage location at the outer radius side faster than an information recorded in a storage location at the inner radius side of disk plane, at fast speed.
Moreover, an information processing apparatus in one aspect of the present invention comprises a reading device to which the recording medium as described above is set and which reads out the information from the recording medium. An information processing apparatus in another aspect of the present invention comprises an optical reading device to which the optical disk as described above is set and which reads out the information from the recording medium. Accordingly, these information processing apparatuses of the invention operate at faster speed than the information processing apparatuses set with general recording media.